Across the United States this fall, colleges and universities are enrolling the largest ever incoming cohort of international students. This number has grown steadily over the past seven years, according to the 2013 Open Doors Report by the Institute of International Education. The largest percentage of international students come from China, South Korea, and India. How effectively we serve, connect, and engage these students this fall may determine how effectively we’re able to recruit and retain them in the future.

On this episode of Student Affairs Live, host Heather Shea Gasser connects with three national experts, scholars, and practioners to discuss how student affairs can best meet the needs of the influx of international students on campus. Dr. Kathy Collins is the Director of Residence Education and Housing Services at Michigan State University, Dr. Rachel Beech is the Director of International Admissions at the University of Arizona, and Robert Coffey is a doctoral student at Michigan State University and chair of the ACPA Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development. Please read the detailed bios of the three guests below.

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Please join us for this important conversation about welcoming international students. Student Affairs Live welcomes your tweets to #higheredlive!

Dr. Kathy M. Collins is the director of Residence Education and Housing Services at Michigan State University. In this role she oversees the housing and residence life operation and the MSU Student Union. Previous to this role, she was associate director of residence life at Texas A&M University. Kathy has worked in student affairs since 1994, working in assessment, athletics, conduct, orientation, student activities, and residence life. Kathy earned her doctorate in higher education administration from Bowling Green State University. Connect with Kathy on Twitter at @KCollins15

Dr. Rachel A. Beech serves as Director of International Admissions at the University of Arizona. In her role she oversees the institutions work with inbound international undergraduate students entering degree seeking, visiting and exchange programs through student recruitment, application and enrollment processing, and scholarship distribution. Rachel’s experience includes academic student engagement, orientation management and first year experience programming. She earned her Ed.D. in 2011 from Arizona State University with a dissertation focused on the early career experience of women in student service roles. Connect with Rachel on Twitter at @rabeech

Robert Coffey is a doctoral candidate in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education (HALE) program at Michigan State. His research explores the experience of international students who used an education agent to assist with the postsecondary search process. Prior to MSU, Robert worked for thirteen years in student affairs at Illinois State University, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Michigan. He currently serves as Chair of ACPA’s Commission for the Global Dimensions of Student Development, which promotes international and cross-cultural learning opportunities. Connect with Robert on Twitter at @BuiltBearTough